


Taking It For The Team

by LoveYourArtFriend



Series: Taking It For The Team [1]
Category: American (US) Actor RPF, Captain America - All Media Types, Chris Evans - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Romance, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 19:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21123749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveYourArtFriend/pseuds/LoveYourArtFriend





	Taking It For The Team

She always covered her tracks, trained to do so and damn good at it, too. Working two jobs, she had everything under control, everything but her personal life.

~~~~~~

F/n and Adam had been together for four years. Last year, he proposed and the wedding date was fast approaching. But all was not well in the land of milk and honey and F/n was starting to notice little idiosyncrasies in Adam’s behavior. 

At first, he wanted to go out with his buddies more than with her. She tried to rationalize it, thinking he had every right to hang with his friends, but when he started cancelling their personal plans and went out with the guys instead, she knew something was amiss. Pre-wedding nerves? Maybe. Feeling like he’d lose his “guy time” once he got married? Maybe. Was that her intent? Never. She didn’t really like what was happening, but she didn’t confront him on it either.

Adam started to distance himself from F/n. She always hugged him, always gave him a peck on the cheek for no reason, always rubbed his shoulders while he worked at his computer. That was her thing and when Adam stopped reciprocating, F/n started to feel unloved, unattractive and lonely. One of her jobs required her to be in top physical shape but she started to wonder if it wasn’t enough. Maybe she needed to lose a few pounds, maybe pay more attention to Adam when they were together, maybe he was bored and she needed to spice things up. But, her thinking was all wrong. Adam didn’t say anything when she lost a few pounds and ignored her advances when she tried to take the lead and be more intimate with him.

As if that wasn’t enough, F/n occasionally had to travel for business which was fine until one day, out of the blue, Adam accused her of seeing someone else. She tiptoed in at 2:30 in the morning but he was waiting for her and didn’t believe her “business trip” alaby.

F/n felt defeated, felt she couldn’t do anything right, felt she caused this spiral. She let it play on her emotions yet couldn’t bring herself to talk to him about it. Why was she so good at confrontation at work but not at home? It ate away at her, literally, and it didn’t go unnoticed by her coworkers.

~~~~~~

“I can’t tonight, maybe another time?”

Natasha looked at Steve, then back to F/n, “Yeah, of course.”

She grabbed her computer case and slung it over her shoulder, “Thank you both, really,” she reached out and touched Steve’s shoulder. “Adam and I are supposed to go out for dinner so……,” she trailed off, “I’ll see you first thing tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you then,” Nat crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the door jamb as her friend walked out of her office. 

“She didn’t seem overly excited to be going out for dinner with her fiance,” Steve noted.

Later that night, Natasha, Steve, Clint and Sam left the restaurant/bar before the late night party patrons took over. As they exited out the back, they noticed a group of rowdy men walking up to the building. One of those men was Adam.

**Two weeks later…**

“I appreciate that you’re concerned for her, Natasha, but I haven’t noticed anything and I’m pretty observant.”

“What about the night we saw Adam out with his buddies? He was supposed to take her to dinner so I’m not thinking that happened. And how many times has she cancelled your morning run?”

Steve thought about it and was suddenly embarrassed. “Well, maybe a few times.”

“She’s been distant and I think she’s losing weight.”

“I’ve noticed that….”

“A ha,” Nat chimed.

“But that’s probably her changing her diet and exercise routine. Not that she needed to lose weight but it’s her choice.”

“But you’ve noticed.”

“I have, but I also want to respect her privacy.”

Natasha sighed, “Something’s not right, Steve and it’s my job to find out.”

“No! Not when it comes to F/n. She’s not a mission, Natasha,” Steve spoke sternly.

“Ugh,” Nat threw her head back and spoke to the ceiling, “Why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Nat, I just don’t see this as an issue.” He took a step closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders, “But, I’ll definitely help keep an eye on her.”

“Thank you, Steve.”

**Another two weeks later...**

‘Ready to g…..oh, my!”

“I’m not really feeling up to our breakfast this morning. I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier.”

“Are you getting sick? You look a little puffy,” Nat put her hands on her face and used her thumbs to pad under F/n’s eyes.

“Maybe a little,” she closed her eyes and fought off a wave of emotion that was floating its way to the surface. “Thank you, Nat,” she opened her eyes. “You’re always looking out for me. But,” she sighed, “I think I’m going to stay from home, get cozy and drink lots of tea.”

“Okay, sure. Next week,” Nat said as she tried to read her face. F/n was good at hiding emotions but this time, her appearance was saying it all. Nat was really worried.

F/n closed the door and went to the freezer for an ice pack. She crawled back into bed and placed the chilled bundle over her eyes to reduce the insane puffiness from crying all night.

**Two more weeks later…**

“But she’s in a good mood so I don’t think there’s anything wrong, Nat. She was sick a couple weeks ago so maybe it’s just taken its toll.”

“Ugh, Clint, you’re such a non-attentive man.”

“What do you mean? I’m always at Laura’s beck-and-call.”

“Laura, yes. Anyone else, you don’t pay attention to details. She wasn’t sick. She’s pulling away from us and she’s lost like what, twenty pounds?”

**Yet another two weeks later…**

Tony walked in to Pepper’s office while she and F/n conversed, deep in the middle of an Acquisition Document. Pepper was dictating the legalities and F/n was typing. Tony looked at the artwork on the wall so as not to disturb them.

Pepper glanced up, catching his eye and giving a loving smile. “Give them the standard forty-five day deadline and I’ll sign it right away. I’d like to FedEx it before we leave tonight.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” you replied as you finished the last line and went to close your laptop.

“Tony!” Pepper exclaimed.

“And how are my girls?”

“She’s your girl,” you absent-mindedly pointed to Pepper as you stood from your seat. “I’m the girl who assists your girl,” you finally made eye contact with Tony and smiled.

“That also makes you my girl, you can’t fight it, it’s in the legal document you signed when you joined Stark Industries aaaand, I win. Yay!”

“Tony, stop teasing,” Pepper walked around her desk to give him a peck on the cheek. “What brings you here?”

“I’m extending the first formal invitation to the Start Industries Christmas Bash,” he pointed directly between your eyes. “You, Adam, my company, my booze, what more could you want? Two weeks from tomorrow.”

“Uhhhh, I’ll have to check with Adam ‘cuz umm, he’s not been wanting to go out much lately.”

“Aw, come on, Kiddo. You and Adam haven’t been out with us in ages and you’re going to say no to one of **_my_** parties? I think not,” Tony smirked. “Why don’t you and Pepper go shopping and have some fun before the festivities. Looks like you might have lost some weight so I’m treating you to something new for the occasion.” Pepper smiled and nodded her head excitedly.

“Oh, Mr. Stark, you really don’t have to do that.” she waved him off. 

“Woah!” Tony objected fiercely but with a smirk. “First off, since when do you call me Mr. Stark and B, you’re getting a new outfit because I said so.”

“Thank you, Tony, that’s very generous of you.”

He nodded and added, “If Adam doesn’t want to come, I’ll send Happy to pick you up.”

You drew a sharp breath then exhaled with a small smile, “Okay, thank you. Thank you both.”

“Let’s plan for this Saturday, shall we?” Pepper asked.

“Sure, sounds great,” you nodded sheepishly as you raised your hand up, “Bye!”

“Bye, F/n,” Tony replied as he watched you leave the office. He put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and pinched, “Okay, refresh my memory, she’s been here how long?”

“Three years,” Pepper answered as she walked back to sit at her desk.

“And she and Adam have been engaged for how long?”

“A year, I believe.”

“Does she talk about wedding preparations much?”

“What’s with all the questions, Tony? What’s going on?”

“Uh, nothing. It’s just that Natasha came to me and has been worried about her for weeks. Apparently F/n’s not been herself lately and her weight loss was a concern.”

Pepper sat back in her chair, crossed her arms in front of her and looked at the door where F/n just walked through. “Well,” she started, “she hasn’t spoken about the wedding but she’s never discussed her personal life at work anyway. We only know Adam from her bringing him to staff gatherings. Her weight loss was rather quick although she seems happy. You don’t think Adam’s figured her out, do you?”

“I think she would have told us if she felt she was compromised. She’d never run the risk…….”

“Wait!” Pepper cut Tony off and looked at him with a confused look on her face. “You mean Natasha hasn’t been able to figure this out?”

Tony thought about if for a moment and came to the realization at the same time as Pepper, F/n’s been hiding something and she’s damn good at keeping it hidden.

~~~~~~

Steve kept a close eye on her, professionally and personally. He really liked F/n and didn’t want to see anything happen to her. Work was never an issue, it was her personal life that he felt like he was intruding upon. He knew a secret and didn’t share it with anyone. 

He could hear the anger emanating from the apartment next door. It had gone on for weeks and it seemed to escalate every time they came home late from a mission. He tried not to listen but how could he not, the walls were paper thin and Adam’s voice carried like a sonic boom. Steve felt bad and didn’t want to interfere as their issues were personal and private. 

He was torn….torn between how he knew Adam was treating her and his own feelings for F/n…..torn between being the gentleman that he was, always asking how she was doing and her answer that never jived. They were close friends and she remained professional and happy, never leading on that there was an issue. She was extremely intelligent and hid things from people, even better than Natasha did. That’s when Steve knew there was a problem.

~~~~~~

Adam sat at the bar and watched his fiance mingle with her coworkers. He knew of them but paid little attention, downing multiple shots to loosen up. He wasn’t thrilled to be there, he would rather be out with his friends. 

F/n was happy Adam came to the Christmas party with her although she knew he didn’t really want to be there. She let him liquify his courage while she chatted with coworkers. She kept an eye on him, making sure he didn’t overdo it. She soon excused herself and wandered back to him. “Hey stranger, doing okay?”

Adam slammed back his shot before answering, “Yeah, fine.”

She noticed there had been six shots poured and lined up behind his arm that was resting on the bar. Four were now empty and they had only been at the party for fifteen minutes. Her concern for his cognitive awareness grew as she caught a glimpse of Pepper from over his shoulder and whispered to him, “Pepper’s coming.”

“F/n! Adam!” Pepper exclaimed as she neared them. Adam turned and held out his hand to her. Pepper slipped her hand into his and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “Good to see you, Adam. It’s been a while.”

“Thank you for having us tonight,” he replied, nervously.

She stepped toward F/n and gave her a hug. As she pulled away, she complimented, “You look gorgeous, F/n, and of course we would have you at our party,” she turned back to Adam. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she stated, “As F/n’s fiance, we hope to see you more often, get to know you better,” she smiled.

“We?” Adam spoke softly.

“Tony and myself,” she stated confidently as Adam’s eyes widened. “F/n works extremely hard, she’s my right hand and I couldn’t possibly do this job without her. Tony knows how close we are and treats her like family. We’re wanting you to feel like family, too. After all, your wedding is in what, three months?”

“Oh, yeah, right,” he smiled sheepishly and tried to reroute the conversation. “So, Mr. Stark is here tonight then?”

Pepper smiled, “Yes, Tony’s just taking care of a little business with our friend, Happy.”

F/n could tell that Adam was getting excited. This would be his first opportunity to meet Tony Stark but she couldn’t tell if he was excited to meet him or Iron Man. Either way, she could tell this would be a good thing.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be back. I just want to check on a couple of things,” Pepper spoke.

“Sure,” F/n smiled at Pepper as she stepped away.

Adam leaned into F/n and almost scolded, “You didn’t tell me you knew Iron Man. When did this happen?”

F/n giggled a little at Adam’s fangirling. “I’ve known Tony since my second day on the job and why wouldn’t I know him? I work in his building, I’m his girlfriend’s personal assistant and I help run his company,” she smiled. “But,” she chuckled, “it’s not like he shows up at the office in his metal suit!”

~~~~~~

As the night progressed, Adam finally met Tony Stark. His jealous side poked through his alcoholic stupor as Tony embraced F/n and gave her a kiss on the cheek, all innocent, of course. He stayed but a moment, wished them an enjoyable evening and went on his way to mingle with his other guests.

Adam’s demeanor started to shift and he wasn’t speaking much. F/n didn’t let this go unnoticed and decided to take action before he embarrassed himself, and her.

Backfire.

“Okay, big boy, you need to work off some of this alcohol,” she pulled Adam from the stool and slowly walked him to the dance floor. He needed to start moving so she figured a slow dance wouldn’t rock the boat too much, or so she thought.

With his hand around her waist and barely holding her other one, they started to sway to the slow beat. Adam was distant, looking over F/n’s shoulder at everyone other than her. 

“You seem a little off tonight. Are you okay?” she asked.

“I said I was fine once already. Quit asking,” he slurred sharply.

“Wow, what crawled up your ass?”

Shit…..meet fan.

“You. You’ve changed,” he stammered.

“Pardon me?” you quipped.

“No one comes home all hours of the morning from business trips,” he sputtered, “you’re probably whoring around. The notorious playboy Stark maybe? Well that’s just fine cuz I don’t want you, haven’t for a long time.”

And….there it was. When liquid courage takes hold, all will be unveiled.

She tried to pull away from him but he held her tight, even though they weren’t swaying anymore. She looked him in the eye and figured he was going to lay one more low blow. Most women would cry and run but she waited, noticing in her peripheral vision that all her coworkers started to clear the dance floor. She’d take it like a trooper if it meant getting all her answers. Tony and Pepper noticed there was a commotion and when the dance floor started to clear, they heard the conversation.

“Figure I’d tell you you suck shit in bed, too,” he yelled.

“Tony!” Pepper gasped, in shock.

“On it,” he replied. He tapped his ear, “Need you, Buddy,” he spoke as he motioned Pepper to step safely aside. He started to walk toward Adam and his belligerent mouth.

F/n stood her ground, “You’re drunk, Adam. Maybe tomorrow, when you’re sober, we’ll talk about this,” she harshly pulled herself from his grip and turned to walk toward the exit. 

Her action pissed him off and he reached for her arm. “Don’t you walk away from me, Bitch,” he squeezed the flesh of her upper arm and yanked her back toward him.

Without a word, she used her other hand, grabbed his wrist and sharply twisted his hand off her skin. The sudden movement crumpled his body to the floor and she stepped on his shoulder. He looked up at her in shock. “Don’t you fucking touch me again,” she blurted as she dropped his arm to the ground.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Adam slurred.

Tony approached and held her arm, “Walk with me, Darling,” he stated, casually, as he snatched her away and led her to the bar. He felt the twist of her body and he quickly reciprocated, “Don’t look back.” She followed his instructions as she sat on the bar stool. Tony reached over the bar and grabbed a couple of glasses. He motioned to the bartender, “Whiskey,” and the barkeep handed over the most expensive bottle. Tony poured each of them a glass, moreso for F/n, to calm her nerves but Tony would never let her drink alone. F/n’s shaky hands brought the golden nectar to her lips and as she took a large gulp, her mind wandered. Something was definitely wrong in Adam’s life to turn him from the sweet person she’d always known him to be, to a maniacal rage beast. Needing to get away from his anger and accusations, she couldn’t risk her cover being blown.

Happy stood above Adam and looked down at him as he lay on the floor. Adam finally noticed him hovering above and looked up. “Party’s over, Romeo. Time to go,” he leaned down and grabbed Adam’s arm, pulled him to his feet and escorted him outside. Happy shoved him into the awaiting car and drove him home. “Do you have a set of keys to Miss F/n’ apartment?” he blurted to Adam. All Adam could do was nod as Happy watched him from the rear view mirror. He fumbled with his keyring until he was successful at removing it. 

As he handed it over, Happy stated, “So this is what’s going to happen, listen carefully. First off, you will not be at Miss F/n’s apartment tonight. I’m taking you back to your old apartment. Your roommates will be thrilled to have you back. I’ll send your belongings there.”

“How do you know that about me?”

“It’s my job. I background check everyone…..**_everyone!_**” Happy insinuated.

This infuriated Adam. How dare Stark Industries look into him without his consent, it was an invasion of privacy.

Happy held his hand back behind his head to collect the key as anger continued to fester in Adam’s brain. As he handed it over, Happy continued, “Secondly, I guarantee you that Mr. Stark will have security at Miss F/n’s apartment so I advise you to make an educated decision and not go there anytime soon or anytime later, for that matter.”

Adam sat back in his seat and muttered to himself, “I don’t need a fuckin’ key to get what I want.”


End file.
